From 11/6 - 30/10, the Library of Science is hosting a new exhibition in the series ‘Library Treasures’: Flora's Art.
The Library of Science proudly owns a rich collection of botanical works. The collection stems partly from a long-standing interest in plant ecology, but also from an interest in the history of science at the Institute for Science in Society, both at the Faculty of Science. Together, these books present a fascinating overview of how plants are depicted in botanical works.
Throughout history, botanical depiction has gone through major changes. How plants were represented depended on shifting functions of botany books, changing conceptions of nature, as well as on evolving printing techniques. This exhibition follows botanical representation from Medieval and Renaissance herbals, through 18th century coffee table books, to modern field guides and research tools.
As book printing developed in the 15th century, instructive “herbals” shared practical knowledge of plants, illustrated by rather crude woodblock prints. A century later, the number of known plants had expanded enormously. Printing technique had developed to produce representations that actually supported plant identification, typically used by doctors for herbal medicine. Around 1700, lavish coffee table books started to appear, with a more aesthetic function, targeting rich patricians. Hand-coloured copper engravings allowed their customers to boast both their good taste as well as their wealth. Our collection also has a range of field guides, with yet different concerns for how plants should be depicted, ranging from sober and stylised black-and-white line drawings to photographs. As taxonomic concerns were complemented with ecological perspectives, the representations started to include plant communities, rather than just individual species in isolation.
Together, these books beautifully illustrate how the representation of plants varied with printing technologies, the functions of these books for their readership, as well as the particular biological perspective. But whether purely functional or aesthetic, botanical illustration displays exceptional skill: come marvel at Flora’s Art!
Research and execution: Mirre Vlug, Willem Halffman.
Support and materials: Library of Science.
This exhibition was made possible with financial support from the Institute for Science in Society, the Faculty of Science and the department for the History of Philosophy.